Monday, March 7, 2016

Back to Blogging....

Save this date!

SACRED: Women in Vision
March 1-31, 2016

University of Maine at Machias Art Gallery

Reception

March 15th, 5-7 p.m.
Live music by Kelly Bryand and Anthony Branca

The show is up and looks great! We are grateful to Bernie Vinzani who did a wonderful job of hanging the work of five artists with varied styles. Women in Vision is honored to be showing in this space for Women's History Month!

Photographing the McCurdy Smokehouse in downtown Lubec never gets old....especially on a foggy day!

Waiting for warmer days to meditate on the rocks at West Quoddy (warmer...and BEFORE the hiking population picks up!!!)

Enjoying my canned mackerel from my first out-on-the water mackerel fishing experience last summer. It was great fun (and work!!!) catching lots of fish then canning and smoking them with Celia and Billy. It was a long, wet, and stinky day!!! Yummy, too!

The fluid-edged carved whale bowls have been a hit. I'm looking forward to showing my handcarved pottery this summer at Ironbound Gallery in Camden, Maine.

I am attempting to return to blogging after a many-months hiatus. Same old story. I've been wrapped up in the everyday goings-on that go on in life. Every day seems to be an adventure and I am keeping myself busy with creative tasks as well as social time with friends and family. That may not sound so odd, but it was not so long ago that I was one of those "all work and no play" types of girls. So, I am enjoying life while keeping on top of the demands of being a full time artist and potter. Let me translate for you. Full time = way more than 40 hours a week. Still. I love what I do and I am blessed to be able to do it.

Last year was full of gallery shows, vending, running shop, dancing, and hiking. This year is shaping up to be the same. Rest-assured, this "routine" is never boring. I'm working on the marathon awards again and preparing for a second season at Crow Town Gallery. I'll be creating all new work for those three shows this summer. Currently the Women in Vision group is showing at the UMM Art Gallery. It opens on March 15th. Hope you can make it to the reception!!!

While I am returning to blogging, I am not quite awake enough to return to writing a lengthy text. I'll keep this one short and hope to hop back in soon with some creative ramblings. We'll just assume that since a picture is worth a thousand words...I already provided enough with the stream of photos above!

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About Me

Shanna Wheelock sculpts and weaves in downeast Maine nestled amongst spruce trees and critters. She studied ceramics in the early 1990’s as a fine arts student and took to weaving a few years later when awarded a fellowship. She spent many years facilitating workshops for women’s groups, inmates, children, and exchange students, and is a state certified visual arts teacher and Weaving a Life Circle Leader. She recognizes arts as a pathway to healing and is grateful for her enchanted life on the coast, in the easternmost U.S. town of Lubec, with her husband the poet and their two cats "Bello" and "Bouli".

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EARTH LOOM

We built this loom with a Maine Arts Teachers Fellowship grant. It is housed here at Cobscook Pottery, right next to our fire circle. The installation ceremony was amazing - with a group of close friends, chanting, feasting, and praying for Peace.

ZATI MASKMAKING

Hecate (woven and felted wool)

ZATI MASKMAKING

This is my favorite Zati mask that I have made, named "Laughing Tree Spirit." When I wear this mask, I can't help but fill with laughter. The face sometimes appears quiet, but when worn, takes on a more jovial appearance.

ZATI MASKMAKING

This mask is named "Babi." It was the first Zati mask that I ever made. I asked for the animal spirits to make their presence, and they did - with a Baboon! Not exactly what I was expecting. But in this process, I am open and willing to learn/listen to whatever messages are brought to me.

JOURNEY

This is the first tapestry that I ever made on my beaver stick loom. The piece, for me, tells the story of a Shaman's journey through the underworld.

THE MACHINE

The General

THE MACHINE

"Arsenal"

THE MACHINE

"Missile"

THE MACHINE

"Grenade"

COBSCOOK POTTERY

COBSCOOK POTTERY

COBSCOOK POTTERY

Yunomi

EARTHMOTHER

I have been sculpting fertility Goddesses since I was a student at USM, back in the early 1990's. I have made these "Mamas" in earthenware, stoneware, and raku. They have evolved slightly over the years, but the main idea the same. I love to work with the figure - and this is perhaps my favorite form to sculpt and draw - a voluptuous torso.

THE FIGURE

This was the first figure drawing that I ever did, at USM, about twenty years ago.

THE FIGURE

A quick study of model with hiking shoe

THE FIGURE

This was one of our 10 minute warm-up exercises.

THE FIGURE

Annie's Jeans

MINI POTS

These are three typical mini pots that I make. I sell lots of them either through my studio or at Northern Tides, a gift shop here in Lubec.

MINI POTS

SAKE SET

I like Japanese culture and pottery. This comes through in my pottery, with the Yunomi cups, rice bowls, and Sake Sets. This set is in the "Barley" glaze, but I also make them in "Earth and Sky", "Speckled Blue-Grey", and "Butterfly" glazes.

MOON TREE SERIES

MOON TREE SERIES

In this piece I opted to glaze the branches a darker, contrasting color. In some respects I like it better than the more simple, purely celadon piece. However, there is something to be said for quiet beauty.

CHOP SIGNATURE

Most of my new work has this new chop signature. SLW: Shanna Lynn Wheelock